Numerous distributed control architectures have been envisioned and proposed in the past for aircraft. However, reliability concerns and the need to protect electronics from harsh environments led to modern federated architecture as the industry standard. Typically, large military and commercial engines are controlled by an Electronic Engine Controller (EEC) or a Full Authority Digital Engine Control (FADEC), housed in a centralized location. Commercial requirements have evolved toward a singular electronic control mounted in the relatively benign environment of the fan case. Fan case mounting necessitates long wiring harnesses that must extend between the fan case and the engine core through an airfoil.
By default, the centralized EEC included all the connections for the engine and airframe. In this federated architecture, the EEC receives input from various sensors and issues commands to the appropriate actuators or subsystems, such as the fuel system. Electronic feedback is provided back to the EEC to confirm proper operation. The EEC performs inner-loop control of an actuator or subsystem, for example. As a result, modern EEC's are very large, heavy and application-specific making redesigns very costly. The interconnecting harnesses, likewise, are heavy, limit external packaging, inhibit easy component maintenance, subject to durability concerns and often aesthetically unpleasing. Therefore, there is a need to reduce the complexity and weight of the current systems.